Blueberry Banana Bread with Cream Cheese
Blueberry Banana Bread. Yum.
Blueberry Banana Bread with Cream Cheese?
Double yum.
Even as I write this, there are browning bananas glaring at me from the kitchen counter. They know it’s time.
Time to be made into bread. Or muffins. They really deserve to be made into something.
But ugh…I’m tired. I just got back from a mini-vacation that took place a mere HOUR away. Really. We escaped for the weekend and celebrated Seven – he’s about to turn five in a few days, as well as start kindergarten. He deserves to be a little celebrated. We stayed in a “castle”, ate lots of macaroni, went to Chuck E Cheese, saw ParaNorman, ate popcorn, and swam in the pool. It was fun, but exhausting. I’ll tell you all about it sometime, when I’m not sitting in the corner, shaking.
It will wait.
The bananas, however, will not.
The last time I had bananas in this state, I made Blueberry Cream Cheese Banana Bread. Yum and a half, I tell you. Blueberries and bananas should always walk hand in hand, I think. They look good together, taste good together, they combine in sweet and subtle ways. Throw in some cream cheese and you’re talking amazement. Banana bread has never been so good.
Blueberry Cream Cheese Banana Bread
Ingredients:
- 3 sticks butter, softened
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 1/4 cups brown sugar, packed
- 2 large eggs
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 4 ripe bananas, smashed
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups blueberries
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Prepare a large loaf pan with cooking spray. Set aside. (Note, my loaf pan is 14 inches long. Use two smaller loaf pans if you have them.)
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and cream cheese until creamed. Add the sugars, beating until fluffy, about 4-5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Add vanilla, beat for 2 minutes. Finally, add in smashed bananas and beat for 1-2 minutes, until well combined.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and ginger. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in 3 additions on low speed. Mix until just combined. Add the blueberries and stir in with a spoon.
Bake at 350° for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick registers done. Serve warm with butter or whipped cream, if desired. Enjoy!
